Interbrand announces Best Indian Brands 2019: Celebrate brave growth amidst change

• Interbrand India announces India’s Top 40 most valuable brands
• Tata, Reliance, and Airtel are the Top 3 brands
• TCS continues helping Tata stay India’s most valuable brand
• JIO helps Reliance to grow as the challenger
• Airtel loses 13% Brand Value simultaneously
• Automotive sector in top growth gear
• Retail finally makes its presence felt with Big Bazaar and DMart joining Tanishq
• Tanishq, Royal Enfield, Kotak, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland and Britannia the fastest growing 
• New entrants Big Bazaar, D Mart and Nerolac

Interbrand, the world’s largest and most influential brand consultancy, has released its 2019 Best Indian Brands Report, the definitive guide to the Top 40 brands in India. 

Now in its sixth year, the Best Indian Brands Report complements Interbrand’s Best Global Brands Report, the most prestigious brand ranking table globally, which is based on a unique combination of attributes that contribute to a brand’s cumulative value: the financial performance of the branded products and services, the role the brand plays in influencing customer choice, and the strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company. 

Tata, Reliance, and Airtel were once again the three most valuable Indian brands of 2019, with Tata continuing to hold the top position this year with its Brand Value growing by a modest 6.5%, contributed significantly by its tech services business TCS. Reliance consolidated its No 2 position with a growth in Brand Value of 12% and the phenomenal growth of JIO. HDFC Bank, LIC, State Bank of India, Infosys, Mahindra, ICICI Bank and Godrej round off the Top 10. 

Financial Services and Automotive were the dominant sectors in this year’s Top 40, contributing 27% and 13% of value, while Retail also made its presence felt. Auto brands Royal Enfield, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, Hero, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra demonstrated higher than average growth while Tanishq, Royal Enfield, Kotak, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland and Britannia were amongst the fastest growing brands.

This year’s table also featured three new entrants: Big Bazaar at #33 (INR 26.86 b), DMart at #37 (INR 20.15 b) and Nerolac Paints entering the table at #39 (INR 19.19 b) for the first time. Meanwhile, Reliance Group (R-ADAG; last on in 2017, INR 46.56 b) and Canara Bank (last on in 2017, INR 19.73 b) exited the listing this year. 

The combined value of the Top 40 brands is INR 5.03 trillion, representing a 5.2% growth in value over the previous year. 

“What’s really encouraging to see in Best India Brands 2019 is that most Indian businesses are understanding that the risk is no longer in changing, but in not changing, and the challenge is not just in the competition or the ever-changing business environment but also in our own inertia and fear of the new and unknown,” said Ashish Mishra, Head of Interbrand India. “We’re now seeing the progressive few attempting to change by acknowledging new consumer preferences and reinventing themselves before they reinvent their categories.” 

In India to unveil Best India Brands 2019, Interbrand’s global Culture and Learning Officer Rebecca Robins said: “In a fast-changing world, brands are the only assets that companies can fall back on to navigate the challenges. They are the crucial interface between technology and consumers, channelling an organisation’s efforts to engender growth. Globally, the one category that has managed this well, to constantly evolve; to lead new ecosystems; to craft highly personalised and meaningful micro-experiences while still being rooted in a larger purpose, is Luxury. No wonder then, that the world’s and India’s top change drivers are taking a leaf out of the Luxury playbook, to grow by adopting a ‘Luxury Mindset’.”

Now in its second year, Interbrand’s Best Sri Lankan Brands will be launched shortly.